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THE AMERICAN PATRIOT.
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ciples stamped by eternal experience, approv
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SAVANNAH, April 14, 1812 1
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JOHN GINDRAT.
April if 3t 1
CONGRESS.
HOUSE OK REPRESENTATIVES.
Debate on the Navy Bill.
January 25.
Mr. QUINCY. —Mr. Speaker, I rise to ad.
dress you on this occasion, with no affected
diffidence ; and with many doubts, concern
ing the expediency of taking any part in this
debate. On the one hand, the subject has
been discussed with zeal, industry and ta
lents, which leave but little scope for novel
ty, either in topic or illustration. On the
other hand, arguments from this side of the
house, in favor of this question, are received
with so natural a jealousv, that I know not
whether more may not be lost tiian gained,
by so unpropitious a support. Indeed, sir, if
this subject had been discusser on narrow
or temporary, or party principles, I should
have been silent. On such ground I could
not condescend to debate ; I could not hope
to influence. Rut the scale of discussion has
been enlarged and liberal; relative rather to
the general system, than to the particular exi
gency ; in almost every respect, it has been
honorable to the House, and auspicious to the
prospects of the nation. In such a state of
feeling and sentiment, 1 could not refrain
from indulging the hope, that suggestions
even from no favorite quarter, would he re
ceived with candor, perhaps with attention.
And, when I consider the deep interest,
which the state, from w hich I have the honor
to bes representative, has, according to my
apprehension, in the event, I cannot permit
the opportunity entirely to pass, without
bringing my small tribute of reflection into
the general stock of the House.
The object 1 shall ehiefiy attempt to en
force is the necessity and duty of systematic
protection of our maritime rights, by mari
time means. I would call the thoughtful
and intelligent men of this House and nation,
to the contemplation of the essential connec
tion between a naval force, proportionate to
the circumstances of our sea coast, the ex
tent of our commerce, and the inherent en
terprise of our people ; I say, sir, I would cal]
them to the contemplation of the essential
connection between such a naval force and
the safety-, prosperity and existence of our
Union. In the course of my observations,
and as subsidiary argument, I shall also at
tempt to shew’ the connection between the
adoption of the principle of a systematic
maintenance of our maritime rights, by mari
time means, and relief from our present na
tional embarrassments.
I cenfess to you Mr. Speaker, I never can
look, indeed, in my opjnion, no American
statesmen ought, ever to look on any question,
touching the vitalinterestsof this nation,or’ol
any of its component parts, -without keening
at all times in distinct view the nature of our
political association, and the character of the
independent sovereignties which compose it.
Among states, the only sure and permanent
*■ —* T ; r -4 the vital inte
rests of states, although they may . W]c _
times obscured, can never, for a very long -
time, be misapprehended. The natural pro
tection, which the essential interests of the
great component parts of our political asso
ciation require, will be sooner or later under
stood by the states concerned in those inte
rests. If a protection, upon system, be not
provided, it is impossible that discontent,
should not result. And need I tell statesmen
that, when great local discontent is combined
in those sections, with great physical power
and with acknowledged portions of sove
reignty, the inbred ties of nature will be too
strong for the artificial ties of parchment
compact !
Hence it results that the essential interests
of the great component parts of our associa
tion, ought to be the polar lights of all our
statesmen. By them they should guide their
course. According to the bearings and varia
tions of those lights, should the statesmen of
such a country adjust their policy ; always
bearing in mind two assurances, as fundamen
tal principles of action, which the nature of
tilings teaches; that although temporary
circumstances, party spirit, local rivalries,
personal jealousies, suggestions of subordi
nate interests, may weaken, or even destroy,
for a time, the influence of the leading and
permanent interests of any great section of
Uit country, yet thbse interests must ulti
mately and necessarily predominate and swal
low up all these local and temporary, and
personal, and subordinate considerations;
in other words, the minor interests will soon
begin to realise the essential connection,
which exists between their prosperity and the
prosperity of those great interests, which, in
such sections of the country, nature has made
predominant; and, has no political connec
tion, among free states, can be lasting, or
ought to lie, which systematically oppresses,
or systematically reluses to protect the vital
interests of any of the sovereignties wtiich
compose it.
I have recurred to these general consider
ations, to introduce and elucidate this princi
ple, which is the basis of my argument; that,
as it is the incumbent duty of every nation to
protect its essential interests, so it is the
most impressive and critical duty of a nation,
composed of a voluntary association of vast,
powerful and independent states, to protect
the essential interests of all its great compo
nent parts. And I add, that this protection
must not be formal or fictitious, but that it
must be proportionate to the greatness of
those interests, and of a nature to give con
tent to the states concerned in their protcc
tion. .... c
In reference to this principle, the course ot
my reflections will be guided by two general
inquiries : the nature of the interest to be
protected; the nature of the protection to be
extended, hi pursuing these inquiries, 1
shall touch very slightly, ii at all, on the ab
stract duty of protection ; which is the very
end of all’ political associations, and without
the attainment of which, they are burthens
and no blessings. But, I shall keep it mainl) ,
in mv purpose, to establish the connection be
tween a naval force and commercial prosperi
ty ; and to show the nature of the necessity,
SAVANNAH, FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1812.
anil the degree of our capacity, to give to our
maritime rights a maritime protection.
hi contemplating the nature of the interest
to lie protected, three prominent features
strike the eye and direct the course of reflec
tion : its locality ; its greatness; and its per
manency.
The locality of any great interest, in an as
sociation ot >tates, such as compose this
Union, will be a circumstance of primary im
portance, in the estimation of every “wise
statesman When a great interest is equally
diff used over the whole mass, it may be neg
lected or oppressed, or even abandoned, with
less hazard of internal dissension. The equa
lity of the pressure lightens the burthen.
The common nature of the interest removes
the causes of jealousy. A concern, equally
affecting the happiness of every part of the
nation, it is natural to suppose is equally dear
to all, and equally understood by all. Hence
results acquiescence, in any artificial or poli
ical embarrassment of it. Sectional fears and
suspicions, in such case, have-no food for sup
port and no stimulant for activity. But it is
far otherwise when a great interest is, from
its nature, either wholly, or in a very great
proportion, local. In relation to such a local
interest, it is impossible that jealousies and
suspicions should not arise, Whenever it is
obstructed by any artificial or political em
barrassment. And it is also impossible that
they should not be, in a greater or less de
gree, just. It is true of the wisest and the
best and the most thoughtful of our species,
that tliev are so constituted as not deeply to
realise the importance of interests, which af
fect them not at all, or very remotely. Every
local circle of states, as well as of individuals,
lias a set of interests, in the prosperity of
which, the happiness of the section to which
they belong is identified. In relation to
which interests the hopes and the fears, the
reasonings and the schemes of the inhabitants
of such sections are necessarily fashioned and
conducted. It is morally impossible, that
those concerned in such sectional interests,
should not look with some degree of jealousy
on schemes adopted in relation to those inte
rests, and prosecuted by men, a majority of
which have a very remote or very small stake
in them. And this jealousy must rise to an
extreme height, when the course of measures
adopted, whether they have relation to the
management or the protection of such inte
rests, wholly contravene the opinions and the
practical experience of the persons immedi
ately concerned in them. This course of re
flection has a tendency to illustrate this idea,
that as, in every political association, it is of
primary importance that the great interests
of each local section should be skilfully and
honestly managed and protected, so, in se
lecting the mode and means of management
and protection, an especial regard should be.
had to the content and rational satisfaction
of those most deeply concerned in such sec
tional interests. Theories and speculations
of the closet, however abundant in a show of
wisdom, arc never to be admitted to take the
place of those prim"]’*’- ~r
experiew ’. shown the prosperity and saie
of such interests to consist. Practical
knowledge and that sagacity which results
from long attention to great interests, never
fail to inspire a just self-confidence in relation
to those interests. A confidence not to be
browbeaten bv authority, nor circumvented
by any general reasoning. And, in a’national
point of view, it is scarcely of more import
ance, that the course adopted should lie
wise, than that content and rational satisfac
tion shouki be given.
On this topic of locality, I shall confine my
self to one or two very plain statements. It
seems sufficient to observe, that commerce is,
from the nature of things, the leading interest
of more than one half, and that it is the predo
minant interest of more than one third of the
people of the United States. The states,
north of the Potowmac, contain nearly four
millions of souls ; and surely it needs no proof
to convince the most casual observer, that the
Proportion,” which the commercial interest
ears to the other interests of that great sec
tion of the Union, is such as entitles it to the
denomination of a leading interest. The
states, north of the Hudson, contain nearly
tioo and a half millions of souls; and surely
there is as little need of proof to show that
the proportion the commercial interest bears
to tlie other interests of that northern section
of the Union, is such as entitles it there to
the denomination of a predominating interest.
In all the country, between the Potowmac
and the Hudson, the interest of'commerce is,
so great, in proportion to the other interests,
that its embarrassment dogs and weakens
the energy of every other description of in
dustry. Yet the agricultural and manufac
turing interests of this section, are of a nature
and a magnitude, both in respect of the sta
ples of’ the one and the objects of the other,
as render them, in a very considerable de
gree, independent of the commercial. And
although they feel the effect of the obstruc
tion of commerce, the feeling may be borne
for a long time without much individual suf
fering, or any general distress. But in the
country north of the Hudson, the proportion
and connections of these great interests are
different. Both agriculture and manufactures
have there grown up in more intimate rela
tion to commerce. The industry of that sec
tion has its shape and energy from commer
cial prosperity. To the construction, the
supply and the support of navigation, its ma
nufactures have a direct or indirect reference.
And it is not very different with its agricul
ture. A country divided into small farms,
among a population great compared with its
extent, requires quick circulation and easy
processes, in the exchange of its commodi
ties. This can only be obtained by an active
and prosperous commerce
In order more clearly to apprehend the lo
cality’ of the commercial interest, cast your
eyes’upon the abstract of tonnage, lately laid
upon our tables, according to annual custom
by the Secretary of our Treasury. It will be
found that Tons.
The aegregate tonnage of t.ie United
States is 1,424,000
Os this there is owned between the
Mississippi and die Potowmac 221,000
Between the Potowmac and the Hud
son 321,000
And north of the Hudson 882,000
1,424,000
If thi tonnage be estimated, new and old,
as it may, without extravagance, at an aver
age value of fifty dollars the ton.
The total aggregate value of the
tonnage of the United States may
be stated, in round numbers,
at 870,000,000
Os which four-sevenths are owned
north of the Hudson, equal to 840,000,000
Two-sevenths are owned between
, the Hudson and the Potowmac
equal to 820,000,000
One-seventh is owned south of the
Potowmac, equal to §10,000,000
870,000,000
To place the locality of this interest in a
light still more striking and impressive, I
state, that it appears by that abstract that
Tin; SIKOLK STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS AAH XI.
I'OSSKSSKS XF.AKI.If HALF A MILLION OF TOX
xagf. Precisely, in round numbers, 496,000
tons.
An amount of tonnage equal, within fifty
thousands tons, to the whole tonnage, owned
by’ all the states south of the Hudson.
I refer to this excessive disproportion be
tween the tonnage, owned in different states
anil sections of the United States, rather as a
type, than as an estimate of the greatness of
the comparative disproportion of the whole
commercial interest, in those respective slates
and sections. The truth is, this is much
greater than the proportion of tonnage indi
cates, inasmuch as the capital and the indus
try, occupied in finding employ for this great
amount of tonnage, are almost wholly posses
sed by the sections of the country, to which
that tonnage belongs. A satisfactory esti
mate of the value of that capital and industry
would require a minuteness of detail, little
reeoncileable either with your patience, or
with the necessity of the present argument.
Enough has been said to convince any one
who will take the trouble to reflect upon the
subject, that the interest is, in its nature,
eminently local; that it is impossible it can
be systematically abandoned, without con
vulsing that whole section of country, and
that the states interested in this commerce
so vital to their prosperity, have a right to
claim, and ought not to be content wini less
than efficient protection.
The imperious nature of Ihis duty will be
still farther enforced by considering the great
ness of tins interest. In doing this, I prefer to
present a single view of it; lest by distracting
the attention to a great variety of particulars,
the effect of the whole should be lost in the
multitude of details. Let us inquire into
the amount of property annually exposed to
maritime depredation, and what the protec
tion of it is worth to the nation, which is its
proprietor. An estimate of this kind must
necessarily be very loose ami general. But
. ... m l* ; cn t!y to answer all
the purposes of the argument. For the sub
ject is of that massive character, that a mis
take of many millions makes no material al
teration in the conclusion to be drawn from
the statement.
The total export of the United
States, in the treasury year, end
ing on the Ist day of October,
1807, was 8108,000,000. That
of the year ending the Ist of
Oct. 1811, was §61,000,000.
The average value exceeds
80,000,000. But to avoid all
cavil, I state the annual average
value of export* of the United
States, at §70,000,000
To this add the annual average
value of the shipping of the
United States, which, new and
old, cannot be less than §SO the
ton, and on one million four hun
dred thousand tons, is also §70,000,000
To this add the average annual
value of freight, out and home,
which, calculated on voyages of
all descriptions, may he fairly
stated at §7O the ton, and is §98,000,000
[For this estimate of the value
of freight and tonnage, I am in
debted to an honorable friend and
colleague, (Mr. Reed) whose in
format ion and general intelligence
concerning commercial subjects,
are, perhaps, not exceded by those
of any gentle man in either branch
of Congress ]
To this add the total average value
of property annually at risque,
in our coasting trade, which
cannot be less than, and proba
bly far exceeds §100,000,000
Our seamen are also the subjects
of annual exposure. The value
of this hardy, industrious and
generous race of men, is not to
be estimated in money. The
pride, the hope, and, if you
would permit, the bulwark of
this commercial community, are
not’ to be put into the scale
against silver or gold, in any
moral orpolitical estimate. Yet,
for the present object, 1 may be
permitted to state the value of
the skill and industry of these
freemen to their country, at
§SOO each, which, on 120,000
seamen, the unquestionable
number, is §60,000,000
Making a gross aggregate of §398,000,000
Although I have no question of the entire
correctness of this calculation, vet, for the pur
pose of avoiding every objection which might
arise in relation to the value of freight or
tonnage, I put out of the question ninety
eight millons of the above estimate, and state
the amount, of annual maritime exposure at
only §500,000,000.
To this must be added the value of the
property ori our seaboard, of all the lives of
our citizens, and of all the cities and habita
tions on the coast, exposed to instant insult
and violation from the meat contemptible
NO 2.
maratime plunderer. No man can think that
1 am extravagant, if I add, on this account,
an amount equal to that annually exposed
at sea, and state the whole amount of mari
time ami sea coast exposure, in round num
bers, at six hundred millions of dollars.
I am aware that this estimate falls short of
the reality. 1 know that the safety of our do
mestic hearths and our alters, and the secu
rity of all the dear and tender objects of af
fection and duty which surround them, are
beyond the reach of pecuniary estimates.
But I lay those considerations out of the ques
tion, and simply enquire, what is the worth of
a rational degree of security’, in time of war,
tiir such an amount of property, considering
it merely as an interest to be insured, at the
market rate, of the worth of protection.
Suppose an individual had such a property at
risque, which, in time of peace, was subject
to so much plunder and insult, and, in time of
war, was liable to be swept away, would he
not be deemed unwise, or rather absolutely
mad, if lie neglected, at the annual sacrifice of
one or two, or even three per cent, to obtain
for this property a very high, degree of secu
rity us high perhaps, as the divine will
permits man to enjoy in relation to the
possessions of this life, which, accord
ing to the fixed dispensations of his provi
dence, are necessarily uncertain and transito
ry ? But suppose that instead of one, two or
three per cent, he could by the regular annual
application of two thirds of one per cent,
upon the whole amount of the property at
risqnc, obtain a security thus high and desir
able. To what language of wonder and con
tempt would such an individual subject him
self, who at so small a sacrifice, should re
fuse or neglect to obtain so important a bles
sing ? What, then, shall be said of a nation,
thus neglecting and thus refusing, when to it
attach not only all the considerations of inter
est and preservation of property, which be
long to the individual, but other and far high
er and more impressive, such as the main
tenance of its place, of its honor, the safety
of the lives of its citizens, of its children,
and females from massacre, or brutal violence ?
Is there any language of contempt and de
testation too strong for such blind infatua
tion ; such palpable improvidence ? For let
it be remembered, that two thirds of one per
cent, upon the amount of property thus amma.ly
exposed, is four millions of dollars. The annual
systematic appropriation of which amount
would answer all the purposes and hopes of
commerce, of your cities and seabord.
But, perhaps, the greatness of this interest
and our pecuniary ability to protect it may be
made more strikingly apparent, by a compar
ison of our commerce with that of Great-Brit
ain, in the single particular of export.
1 state, then, as a fact, of which any man
may satisfy himself, by a reference to
M'Pherson’s Annals of Commerce, where the
tables of British export may lie found, that,
taking the nine years prior to the war of our
revolution from 1766 to 1774, inclusive, the
total average export of Great-Britain, was
I 16,000,000 sterling, equal to §71,000,000.
An amount less, by ten million ofdollars, than
the present total average export of the United
States.
And again, taking the nine years, beginning
with 1789, and ending with 1797, inclusive,
the total average annual export of Great-
Britain was l . 24,000,000 sterling, equal to
§106,000,000, which is less by two millions
of dollars, than the total export of the United
States, in 1807. It is true that this is the
official value of the British export and that
tlie real value is some what higher ; perhaps
thirty per cent. This circumstance, although
it in a degree diminishes the approximation
of (lie American to the British commerce,
in point of amount, does not materially af
feet the argument. Upon the basis of her
commerce, Great-Britain maintains a mari
time force of eight hundred, or a thousand
vessels of war. And will it be seriously
contended that, upon the basis of a commerce
like ours, thus treading upon the heels of
British greatness, we are absolutely without
the ability of maintaining the security ofour
sea board, the saftv of our cities and the un
ohst meted course of our coasting trade!
By recurring to the permanency of this in
terest, the folly and madness of this negli
gence, and misplaced meanness, for it does
not deserve the name of economy, will he
still more distinctly exhibited. If “this com
merce Were tlie mushroom growth of a
night, if it had its vigor from the tempora
ry excitement and the accumulated nutri
ment, which warring elements, in Europe,
iiad swept from the places of their natural
deposit, then, indeed, there might be some
excuse for a temporising policy touching so
transitory an interest. But commerce, in the
eastern states, is of no foreign growth ; and
of no adventitious seed. Its root is of a fibre,
which almost two centuries have nourished.
And tlie perpetuity of its destiny is written
in legible characters, as well as tlie nature
of the country as in the dispositions of its
inhabitants. Indeed, sir, look a lorig your
whole coast, from Fassamaquoddy to Gapes
Henr) and Charles, and behold the deep and
far winding creeks and inlets, the noble ba
sons, the projecting head lands, tlie majestic
rivers, anti those sounds and bays, which are
more like inland seas, than like any thing cal
led by those names in other quarters of the
globL-, Cun any man do this and not realise
that tlie destiny of the people, inhabiting
such a country, is essentially maritime ? Can
any man do tins without being impressed bv
the conviction that, although the poor pro
jects of politicians may embarrass, for a tune,
the dispositions growing out of the condition
of such a country, yet that nature will he too
strong for cobweb regulations and will vin
dicate her rights with certain effect; per
haps with awful perils? No nation eve* dxUL
or ever ought to, resist such alluiems nts auSL
invitations to a particular mode of
The puiposes of Provide’*-e. relat. .. X ~ the
destination of men are to be gath -r i f-.-orr,
tlie circumstances in which his b/;t>
has placed them. And, to refuse to i; :■
use of the means of prosperity, whir., h a
goodness has put into our lianas, what js it
but spurning at his bounty and rejecting tiie
blessings, which his infinite wisdom las dr